1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to side mirrors for vehicles and more specifically it relates to a mirror wiper with washer for cleaning debris from a vehicle's side mirrors thereby maintaining an unobstructed view for the driver.
Side mounted rear view mirrors on a vehicle, and especially on transport trucks, are exposed to rain, snow, dew, dirt and road salt. These mirrors are often smeared and dirty, partially blocking the driver's view of the traffic beside and behind their vehicle. It is not very practical for a truck driver to stop and wipe the side mirrors every time their view becomes partially obstructed even though it increasingly becomes unsafe for the driver and other drivers. Hence, there is a need for a wiper device that is mounted upon the side mirrors and operable from within the cab of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Examples of attempted wipers for side mirrors include U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,091 to Jones; U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,234 to Allain; U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,542 to Tamura et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,537 to Wagenhofer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,708 to Williams; U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,381 to Williams; U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,712 to Vitaloni; U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,258 to DeGraw which are all illustrative of such prior art.
Jones (U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,091) discloses a wiper apparatus for viewing surface. Jones teaches a mounting frame supporting a viewing device and a wiper frame slidingly disposed for bi-directional linear motion relative to the viewing surface.
Allain (U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,234) discloses a wiper accessory for a side mounted rear view mirror of a vehicle. Allain teaches a wiper blade, a drive module having a rotary drive, a flexible arm for moving the blade across the surface of the rear view mirror, and an auxiliary mirror mounted on the drive module.
Tamura et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,542) discloses a mirror apparatus having wiper means. Tamura teaches a blade member, a pair of holders supporting the blade member, and a pair of stays for supporting the pair of holders.
Wagenhofer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,537) discloses a wiping blade device for truck rear view mirrors. Wagenhofer teaches a motorized wiping device for cleaning rear and side view mirrors of trucks, buses, trailers and other heavy vehicles.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for cleaning debris from a vehicle's side mirrors thereby maintaining an unobstructed view for the driver. The prior art devices require many moving components for the wiper arm assembly that are prone to breakage and significantly obstruct the view of the driver. In addition, many prior art devices do not have their own fluid dispensing systems making the wiper blades virtually worthless because of the smearing.
In these respects, the mirror wiper with washer according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of cleaning debris from a vehicle's side mirrors thereby maintaining an unobstructed view for the driver.